Try a natural ingrown hair remedy before you take more aggressive steps to handle this issue. Ingrown hair, as the name suggests, is hair that has grown under the surface of the skin. Sometimes, it can lead to infections. In most cases, ingrown hair is a painful condition. The bumps can occur in all the areas that are shaved. People with curly hair are more likely to suffer from ingrown hair. When the hair curls are not completely cut by the blade while shaving, it leads to ingrown hair. While waxing, if the hair is broken instead of being pulled out by its root, it has a tendency to become ingrown. Most ingrown hair areas are painful and need to be tackled promptly to reduce the discomfort.
Exfoliation
Exfoliation is the scrubbing of the skin using a rough paste or loofah to remove the dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. Regular exfoliation rejuvenates the skin and leads to younger looking skin. You can use natural exfoliants or ready to use exfoliants that are available over the counter at chemists.
One way to prevent the growth of ingrown hair is to exfoliate the skin before shaving or waxing. Use a loofah while showering to scrub the skin properly. This will remove all the dead skin cells and prevent the formation of ingrown hair.
Another natural exfoliating method is to scrub the parts you are going to shave using a mixture of sugar, lime juice and honey. This is a natural exfoliant that also disinfects the skin, preventing infections.
Aloe Vera
Obtain a paste or cream of aloe vera, a natural skin softener, and apply it to the area you plan to shave. Regular use of aloe vera on the skin can prevent ingrown hair.
Salt
A salt scrub is also a good exfoliant. However, care needs to be taken not to rub too hard, as salt tends to irritate the skin.
Shave in the Direction of the Hair
When you do shave, make sure that you move the blade only in the direction of the hair growth. Going against the hair growth will lead to more ingrown hair formation.
Needle
To treat ingrown hairs with a needle, you need to disinfect the areas around the ingrown hair. Next, using a sterile needle, gently pierce the skin near the ingrown hair, and bring it to the surface. Now use a sterile tweezer and pull out the hair. Though initially painful, it does prevent infections.
Precautions
Wear loose fitting clothes around the skin areas with ingrown hair to prevent infection. This is especially important if there is ingrown hair in the underarm or bikini regions. When you are getting yourself waxed, ask the beautician to use beeswax and add some honey to it. This will prevent skin infections because of ingrown hair. After a shave or a waxing, make sure that you take a shower and use some disinfectant to prevent infections.
